The French state is examining the possibility of taking a stake in struggling carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen), French daily Liberation reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.

The newspaper said this was being treated as a "last-resort" plan in case Peugeot found itself unable to stem widening losses. It cited one government source as saying the state could take part in a capital increase if it became necessary.

On Thursday, the company slashed the book value of its plants and other automotive assets by 28 percent, in a writedown adding 4.13 billion euros to its 2012 net loss to reflect Europe's worsening market outlook.

Last October, the French state said it would offer 7 billion euros of state loan guarantees to the company's financial arm, Banque PSA Finance.